Figure 7. Summary of the protective effects of various foods and their constituents.

The data for the cell wall monosaccharides, cell wall polysaccharides, and food components (classified as commelinoid monocots, dicots, and seaweeds) are presented. Food components were broadly classified into land plants, including monocots (commelinoid) and dicots, and algae, including seaweeds, because they all contained different polysaccharide compositions. We performed a literature search and selected the following food components that contain high arabinose and/or xylose levels as candidates for testing. For the commelinoid monocots, wheat and barley were selected as representative grains, and ginger was selected as a spice. For the dicots, apple, pear, blueberry, strawberry, and citrus peel were selected as representative fruits; red cabbage and sugar beet were selected as vegetables; kidney bean and lupin were selected as legumes; almond was selected as a nut; and tea was selected as a beverage. Among the sea vegetables, kelp and sea mustard were selected because they contain a high fucose content as a constituent of fucoidan. Red, blue, and black indicate significant, weak, and no efficacy, respectively. Constituents with white backgrounds were not tested.